Matthew Childers

Matthew Childers was a corporal in the Marines. He served twice in Iraq. “After going through the process of boot camp, I was proud of myself and believed I was doing the right thing,” he says. “They have a way of making you look up to people and instill pride within yourself for what you’re doing. They also joke with you and sing cadences about killing people.” The training, he says, puts pressure on soldiers “to be the stereotypical marine, ruthless and merciless.” In Iraq, he says, his unit abused prisoners and Iraqi civilians who were the victims of their nighttime raids, mostly innocent victims of faulty intelligence. Childers also has vivid memories of a man who came to the Marines holding a terribly burned baby, asking for medical help. The Marines turned him away.